--:-- Gideon Resnick: Good morning. It's Tuesday, April 23rd. I'm Gideon Resnick, in for Shamita Basu. This is Apple News Today.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: On today's show, college students across America protest the war in Gaza, the race to keep a California train line from falling into the ocean, and TikTok faces a major test in the United States. But first, let's take a look at some other major stories that are in the news.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: This is set up to be a big day in the New York criminal trial of former President Trump. The judge there is holding a hearing on prosecutors' request to hold Trump in contempt. They say that he's repeatedly violated a gag order against attacking witnesses, jurors, and others that are involved in the case.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: If the judge agrees, he could issue a warning, a fine, or even put Trump in jail for a short time. Trump has pleaded not guilty to 34 felony charges related to falsifying business records around hush money paid to an adult film actress.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: In other legal news, U.S. Supreme Court observers say that conservative justices appear skeptical of a challenge to a law that punishes unhoused people for camping outside. The court heard oral arguments related to an anti-camping law in Grants Pass, Oregon.
--:-- [Audio clip of Yamiche Alcindor]
--:-- Yamiche Alcindor: The Supreme Court decision here will have wide-reaching impact because a number of cities prohibit camping on public property. And local officials in several cities, including Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, they all wrote into the Supreme Court in support of Grant's past.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: In Gaza, officials there say the remains of nearly 300 people have been found in a mass grave at a hospital near Han Yunus. The medical facility was recently the target of a major Israeli assault. Israel claimed Hamas fighters were using it for military purposes, which Hamas had denied.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Overall, the latest numbers from inside Gaza show more than 34,000 Palestinians killed. The conflict there is a major theme of the latest annual human rights report from the U.S. State Department. It cites several reported violations committed by Israel's military and by Hamas.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: It has now been 200 days since Israel began its war against Hamas in Gaza and protests are escalating across U college campuses Last night, there were several arrests of protesters at New York University, and yesterday at least 60 people were arrested at Yale University after they had set up a pro-Palestinian encampment and defied university orders to vacate the grounds.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: We will not press this, Lord! Similar encampments have emerged on campuses across the country, including at MIT and the University of Michigan, to name a few others. These groups are pitching tents on campus and calling on their schools to divest from companies profiting off the war.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: This all comes amid heightening division and tension at Columbia University. Last week, more than 100 students were arrested there. Columbia student newspaper The Spectator reported that while Columbia's president, Manoush Shafiq, called the encampment a, quote, danger, police said the protesters were peaceful.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Then yesterday, Columbia made classes remote ahead of the start of Passover, with the university president and a rabbi associated with the university expressing concern for the safety of Jewish students.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Amid concerns about the way Shafiq and Columbia have responded to protests, she's faced more pressure internally and externally. There's a possibility she may be censured by the school's Senate over concerns that she's violating academic freedom and student rights.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And some major donors say she's not doing enough to keep Jewish students safe. New York politicians like Democratic House Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have weighed in as well.
--:-- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: It is especially important that we remember the power of young people shaping this country today of all days as we once again witness the leadership of those peaceful student-led protests on campuses like Columbia, Yale, Berkeley, and many others.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: President Biden said he condemned any protests that are anti-Semitic, but also seemed to criticize people not empathizing with those suffering in Gaza.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And on the first night of Passover, a number of students and faculty gathered for a Seder at some of these schools, including Columbia and Yale. There, they read some of the traditional Hebrew prayers and expressed solidarity with Palestinians.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: U lawmakers are closer than ever to forcing TikTok Chinese owner to sell the app or else face a ban in America The TikTok measure is part of the larger package that includes aid to Ukraine Israel and Taiwan The Senate is expected to take up the bill as soon as today, and President Biden has indicated that he would sign it.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Lawmakers from both parties say TikTok is a national security risk because Chinese government officials could ask the social media company for data on American users of the app.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: On the House floor last month, Texas Republican Dan Crenshaw talked about concerns that China could use the app to spread disinformation.
--:-- Dan Crenshaw: You wouldn't allow a radio tower owned by the Chinese to be put up right in the middle of Washington, D.C., and then allow it to just put out Chinese propaganda. You probably complained about that. That's exactly what TikTok can be used for, because millions of Americans are addicted to it.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Tech correspondent Bobby Allen was on NPR explaining the Chinese laws that have some American politicians concerned.
--:-- Bobby Allen: The Chinese Communist Party does not control TikTok or its parent company, but under the country's intelligence laws, TikTok would be legally bound to supply information on you or me or anyone else on TikTok whenever the government asked.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: TikTok says it's never sent American user data to the Chinese government and wouldn't do it if it was requested. And it says the bill would, quote, trample the free speech rights of 170 million Americans.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: President Biden supports the bill, even though his campaign, like many politicians, has used TikTok to engage with young voters. If he signs the package into law as expected, TikTok would have nine months to find a buyer, with the potential for a three-month extension.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: If it does not, the app would be banned from app stores. Now, users who already have the app on their phones could still use it, but they wouldn't be able to get crucial software updates.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And one big question, Alan told NPR, is whether TikTok would even be able to find a buyer. There's two things to consider here, the price and TikTok's algorithm. It's one of the most popular apps in the world, so it's going to be really expensive to buy maybe more than $100 billion.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: That limits potential buyers and the algorithm. China must approve the selling of this algorithm, and China said it will not be doing that. So there's a real question here. What are you even buying if you are trying to buy TikTok?
--:-- Gideon Resnick: To buy a social media app without the algorithm is like trying to buy Coca-Cola without its secret recipe. Who would want to do that?
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And of course, the law and a potential ban will end up in complicated lawsuits. TikTok is expected to fight in federal courts.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Some of the most spectacular views of the California coastline come from the Pacific Surfliner train route. It stretches hundreds of miles, and it's the only track that connects San Diego to Los Angeles.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The train tracks actually go along these beautiful bluffs, like 60 to 80-foot bluffs. And it's beautiful because you can see the ocean. You can see the surfers.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: But they're perilous because they've been crumbling. And they try to, you know, patch the cliffs up. They try to put boulders up to kind of keep the waves away. But it's a little bit of a losing battle.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Landslides caused by erosion have been a big problem for this route and the freight and passenger trains that rely on it for decades now. But Carlton says they're more frequent these days.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: There have been at least a dozen shutdowns in the past six years. And pretty much everyone agrees the route needs to move inland. But there's little consensus on how to actually make that happen.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: The options are to fix, repair, move on, and just kind of cross your fingers and hope that the thing doesn't fly off a cliff. It's not quite that bad, but it's not far.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: But longer term, in like, you know, the next, say, 20 to 30 years, they need to get those trains underground. But the problem with that option is we're talking billions of dollars, you know, at least $3 to $5 billion.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: And it would take maybe decades to get it done. And then you've got all these homeowners that are just really upset because, you know, who wants to have a train under your house? I don't think I would.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: As Carlton mentioned, officials have considered moving some of the vulnerable parts of the train line underground homes in places like suburban Del Mar. Residents there have voiced complaints already, though, about noise and other possible challenges from potentially moving the track.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: Local officials have said it will take years to make a decision, and some people are just hoping to enjoy the views from the train while they can.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: You can find all these stories and more in the Apple News app. And if you're already listening in the News app right now, we've got a narrated article coming up next from Texas Monthly.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: It looks at a remarkable story from the courts in that state of an indigenous man who couldn't understand the legal proceedings against him because of a language barrier. And he got 24 months in prison. It's an example of a problem that many Texas defendants face. inadequate access to an interpreter who can tell them what's going on in court.
--:-- Gideon Resnick: If you're listening in the podcast app, you can follow Apple News Plus Narrated to find that story. And I'll be back with the news tomorrow.
